This is a bit out of order (I still haven't shared my New York photos! Yikes), but I can't wait any longer to share my photos that I took during my Colorado --> California roadtrip with boyfriend. I flew to Denver to meet him part way through his drive from Indiana back to Long Beach where we both live. It was such an amazing way to kick off the summer; I had never been to Colorado or Utah before, and I was completely overwhelmed by how beautiful everything was. The photos I'm sharing here are all from Utah. These pictures have quickly become some of my favorite images I have ever shot (and convinced me that, no, I do not need a new camera. My little Nikon D3000 is perfect just the way she is) and have an emotional resonance when I look at them and recall the joy of these adventures.

Arches National Park

Bryce Canyon

Zion National Park

Wheels touch down in a city I've never seen before, a giddiness settled in my shoes, a laugh deep in my stomach when he pulls up alongside the curb in his pick-up truck, the miles unfolding before us. Perhaps like a map, if we had one. There is wanderlust in my bones, I have joints that ache for places unknown. I've never seen this side of the Rockies before; the air is thin by my heart is full and thick. He drives, I photograph from the passenger seat as we whip down the highway, though we go slower than others. There is no hurry. There is hail on the highway, snow on my eyelashes, rain dampened hair. We sleep in the back, knees tucked together like spoons, tired and cold but happy. We drive through lightning storms, though we hear no roll of thunder. A train rattles through, a noise less heard and more felt, a feeling like nowhere else I have ever been. At sunset, arches soar above us and I cry out in amazement, the fact that this real. This is ours. If you ever needed proof that God exists, this is it. Surprise snow flurries in Bryce Canyon, alternating dark and light, remarkable clouds mounting in the sky, clinging over the ridges. I would take this forever, if it's on the table. I want all of this that is new, I want all of this with you. I wake with exuberance, and breathe with emphasis.

Okay, so it's been forever since I've posted. It wasn't that I forgot about Little Den, not at all; in fact, I pined for it. I wished I had the energy to complete the things I had in mind, but found that I was tail-spinning into a life that offered next to zero work-life balance, and it left me drained and uninspired.

So, why am I here now? Well, because I got fired.

This is not an easy thing for me to admit. I've never been the girl that got 'let-go', that's not a part of the professional image I had constructed for myself. In all of my prior jobs, my employers wanted me to stay when I left. But there I was, holding my last paycheck, offered a box for my belongings, asked to hand over my keys and leave the building.

I had worked for the company for nearly two years. The last time I had been sat down for a meeting, it was for a raise and a bonus. It wasn't my dream job, but I was still stunned. Mostly, I was hurt. The answer they gave me when I asked why? was unsatisfactory, though a sudden release wasn't uncommon in my workplace. However, this post isn't about trashing my former employers. Despite the end, I gained experience, made good contacts, and found financial stability.

The week after was a reckoning. There I was, twenty-five, and my life didn't even remotely resemble what my ten-year-old, sixteen-year-old, hell, even my twenty-two-year-old self thought my life was going to look like at this point. Twenty-five sounds, well, pretty adult. Shouldn't I have things generally sorted at this point? Instead, I was abruptly unemployed, the thought of grad school abandoned, in a long distance relationship with a Marine, watching my parents divorce. This had not been the plan.

I've been known to succumb to destructive anxious circular thinking, those thoughts that play in a non-stop loop, sometimes to the detriment of my physical health. With this in my past, it seemed like the natural next step in between filing for unemployment and trying to come up with a reason to wear something other than sweatpants. That voice does whisper somewhere in the back of my mind, you should be freaking out about this, but weirdly enough... I'm not listening. Actually, it's been awhile since I've felt this good.

My life has gone off-script. Pretty much any plan I had going is now a pile of smoldering embers. And it makes me laugh. It's liberating. My boyfriend even told me over FaceTime that I look cuter than ever, because I look so happy. So that Roald Dahl quote about having good thoughts shining out of your eyeballs like sunbeams or whatever? Totally true, apparently.

Here's the thing about going off-script, you get to rewrite the whole thing. Turns out, it isn't as scary as it sounds. Because even though the preconceived notion of my mid-twenties-existence is out the window, I'm not starting over. I'm good at things; I have skills and passions and a big-ass smile, which I've found counts for a lot. If your future goes blank, remember your past won't, and there are plenty of strengths you've stored there. You have enough to go forward, and just maybe, that terrible thing isn't quite so terrible as you thought.

If I was adding skills to my LinkedIn profile (which I've been doing a lot of lately), prayer probably isn't one I'd list. I've always been bad about asking for help, even from God. Losing my job has been a humbling experience, it brought me low, looking outside of myself. In this place, I found it was suddenly much easier to ask God for this guidance, because I could see I didn't have this whole situation sorted out. So I ask God pretty frequently now to help lay a path for me, show me where I should go. I ask if I'm right to think that it's time to try something new, take a risk, strike out on my own like my heart is calling for. It seems that every time I ask, something comes to me in affirmation of my desires, whether it be a card from a friend, a new opportunity, a well-placed compliment from a stranger. In these moments, I laugh a little, and cast my eyes upward.

For the time being, at least, you'll find me relishing in the blank page and the strength of a prayer.

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeamsand you will always look lovely."-Roald Dahl

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get myself a spot in Darling Magazine's Craft of Coffee evening, hosted at Blacktop Coffee in the Artists' District of Downtown L.A., and today I'm really excited to share some of the pictures from the evening! Blacktop is side by side with one of the District's most distinct landmark shops, Alchemy Works, which made for a gorgeous backdrop for the night's lessons!

We even received some coffee vouchers, along with gorgeously designed study guides and a poster from Alissa Bell Press to help us remember what we learned.

The evening was centered around the idea of being the hostess who can offer her guests not only a cup of coffee, but a delicious one at that. We learned about different preparations and styles, and got to have hands on experience working with the espresso machine, as well as being walked through the process of Chemex brewing.

I absolutely love the method and results of Chemex brewing, and it's definitely something I would recommend trying out if you've been interested! I wish I could explain the whole process to you, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to do it justice through text. So, I found this Youtube video which I think does a great job (plus, the dude's beard is incredible). I will pass off a couple tips I learned, though! The recommended ratio of coffee to water is 1:15 (though I'll admit, I like mine a bit stronger). If you're using a light roast and brewing it right, it should have a natural sweetness (because coffee isn't real a bean, it's a fruit!). Also, a goose neck tea kettle is amazingly helpful. Finally, if you're not using one of those fancy shmancy kettles that tell you the water temperature (I'm not), bringing your water to a boil and then allowing the water to cool for about 30 seconds to 1 minute will bring it to the correct temperature.

As much as I love Pinterest, there's something undeniably wonderful about a real-life, pages and binding cookbook. So when I passed Ceviche while supposedly "window-shopping" at Anthropolgie (like that's even possible), I couldn't resist it's subway tile-esque cover and pages of brilliantly colored photographs showing me all of the delicious Peruvian dishes I could be making. So, I bought the book, picked my recipes, called a couple friends, and got down to cooking.

I had never eaten Peruvian food, let alone cooked it myself, prior to this; what I really fell in love with about it is all of the fresh, beautiful ingredients that are involved in these meals. I'm going to be sharing about the things I cooked and what I learned from the cookbook, but I won't be copying the recipes. This is a really beautiful volume of original recipes from Martin Morales, and one that would be a great addition to your cooking library.

For this evening with my girlfriends, I chose the Don Ceviche (page 19) for a starter, Pollo de Mi Tia Carmela (page 99, now splattered lovingly with oil in my copy) as the entree, and Encanelado de Pisco (page 185) for dessert. I have no complaints about any of these dishes, each with unique bold flavors. One thing I will say, if you are a beginning chef, I might hold off on this book. It makes a great intermediate choice, with clear directions but an assumption you know what you're doing; there are few times given, just what stages to look for. If you're confident with your caramelizing, sautee-ing, and some pan frying skills, you're set.

The chicken was delicious, tender and falling off the bone. I served the sauce over gluten-free corn pasta, but you could easily nix the pasta all together. The ceviche itself calls for Sea Bass, an amazing fish with a price tag to match. If you're looking for something a bit more economical (like myself), try nice fresh cod instead. However, I recommend you allow the fish to "cook" longer in the lime juice mix than the recipe calls for, in order to allow more thorough marination and tenderizing.

The cake was definitely a crowd pleaser. A delicate sponge cake soaked in a pisco and cinnamon sugar glaze, it's an especially great choice for Indian Summer days since you refrigerate it for at least an hour. This also makes it a great party dessert since you can prepare it ahead of time! We had the leftover for breakfast the next day... and I think it was even better after soaking overnight.

And what would a Peruvian dinner be without a Pisco sour? Certainly not a party, I can tell you that.

I made a few tweaks to the Ceviche recipe, making the proportions better for preparing. I'm going to share my version with you, but the book has a lot more cocktail recipes and has ideas for pisco infusions.

Pisco is a type of brandy produced in South America, commonly tied to Peru (though the brand we're drinking here is Chilean). High end piscos will cost you upwards of $40 and are meant for sipping; for cocktails, a less expensive brand works just fine.

1 1/2 ounces pisco

1 ounce lime juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1 egg white (Use fresh eggs that have been properly refrigerated. You can look for pasteurized eggs as well. You can also use powdered egg whites if you prefer)

Dash Angostura bitters---Place pisco, lime juice, simple syrup, and egg white in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously to a slow count of 10. Pour through a Hawthorne strainer to allow the most foam to pass through. Add dash of bitters.

Make sure you give this one a good hard to shake to create that signature foam!

I know little other way to describe pisco sours besides 'delightful', but that is the opposite of what you're going to feel in the morning if you partake in a few too many of these... so take it easy slugger.

Happy to finally share this fun experience with you guys! Curious to know if anyone else has tried anything from this cookbook, would love to hear about your experience!

A couple weekends ago, I had the great fortune to be able to attend the 2014 Create + Cultivate Conference, hosted by (No Subject) and Darling Magazine. Jaclyn Johnson, (No Subject) and C + C's founder, explains the conference started as a way for all of her creative friends that were stuck behind computers all day to get away from the screen and connect with their creativity and each other. Years down the line, the attendance has swelled but the intent hasn't changed; it's still an opportunity for (mostly!) women to gather to talk, listen, and create.

The conference hosted one hundred people with 6 speakers, ranging from bloggers and photographers to academics and entrepreneurs. Set in the beautiful Ace Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, it made a remarkable backdrop for the event. Not to mention, having a view of Banksy's swing girl from my room wasn't bad, as far as parking lot views go!

(The Ace Hotel inhabits the old United Artist building, and hosts lots of sweet live shows as well as boasting some great Spanish Gothic architecture.)

Upon arrival, we were greeted with coffee and mimosas... and a photobooth. One of the coolest things about attending the conference was the chance to meet people I had previously connected with on Instagram, including this lovely lady, Ellie!

During our mid-day break, a few of us went to brunch at an awesome downtown brunch spot, called Wood Spoon. Serving a Brazilian brunch and some bomb diggity Sangria in a charming environment, it's definitely a spot to hit if in the area!

There's that Sangria I was talking about. YUM.

That evening, we joined again for a delicious dinner, served family style in long tables, giving us an opportunity to connect and laugh over a shared meal. You know how I'm big on that kind of thing.

We received a lot of awesome goodies from the event sponsors, including a copy of the summer edition of Darling!

After our dinner and a night out on the town (the next morning...kinda rough! But totally worth it), we woke up in the morning to attend a floral workshop led by Melanie Abrantes. Under the view of the iconic Eastern building, we designed fresh flower combs, heard about each other's evening adventures, sipped and snacked on breakfast goodies. These are definitely my favorite pictures from the weekend!

Here's Melanie demonstrating some techniques for us!

Here are a couple of the creations my talented companions put together!

It's so fun to get to share these images! It was an amazing experience and I hope I get to participate in more events in this vein soon. I hope everyone has an awesome weekend ahead!

I work full time, and I commute close to an hour and a half each way, every day. For those of you living in LA or any other traffic congested city, that probably comes with little surprise, though I can already feel the winces from those who are blessed by a non-traffic existence. I have a lot of reasons why it's worth it to me to drive so much for work, though I will admit that sometimes I wonder if they are good enough reasons (usually this happens when I'm staring at brake lights on the 405). Regardless, I'm living with the reality that nearly 3 hours of each weekday I spend in the car, which leaves even less time for my non-work life. Because of this, there are certain things that get sacrificed, like how regularly I vacuum or put my shoes away in the closet. Another thing that can easily become overlooked, and I think is felt by most people who are leading hectic work or family lives, is cooking or just eating healthy in general. I'll admit, that when I get home at 7 o'clock at night after sitting at a near stand still on the freeway, all I really want is drive-thru french fries and cold beer from the fridge. Well, at least that's what I think I want.

For as many times as I've thought "I'm too tired to cook," I've also been really glad I put on my big girl pants and made myself a proper meal. Through trial and error, I've discovered a few things that make it much easier for me to prepare better, healthier meals without the hassle.

Shop more regularly. This is something I learned while studying abroad in Italy, where I shopped a couple times a week instead of a huge once a week mega-shop. This was necessary since I didn't have a car to transport 50 pounds of groceries back to the 4 story walk-up of my apartment, and it also guaranteed I was eating the freshest food. While I know it may sound daunting to be heading to the grocery store after work, smaller shopping trips are less stressful and your diet more varied. I'm less likely to cook if I'm eating the same bulk thing every night. Having new, fresh items in the house motivates me to eat what I have and waste less.

Find shortcuts that work for you. I'll admit, I don't make everything from scratch. My biggest trick is buying pre-cooked meat to add to whatever else I'm preparing. One of my favorites is grilled chicken breasts from Trader Joe's, which come several to a package. I chop them up to put on salads, mix in with grains or pasta, or make sandwiches. Cutting out that one step makes more time for me to cook, eat, and enjoy my evening.

Make enough for two meals. Now you have a lunch on hand (less eating out!) or another dinner; leftovers are an awesome time saver! I don't like to make more than one extra meal, since your produce won't be as fresh (and I get tired of it after a day and a half!).

Pick a base ingredient, and cook around that. Good base ingredients include things like grains (for example, couscous or the polenta shown above) and meat, elements that can be easily diversified by using a variety of preparations, produce, and herbs. This night, I baked my polenta and added fresh mozzarella cheese, a tomato from a friend's garden, and basil from my new little plant. Another night, I'll fry it and top it with pasta sauce and garlic olive oil (and polenta can make a great breakfast dish too!). Cooking this way makes it easy to use a variety of seasonal produce (and to try out new cooking skills!).

Here's a bad selfie of me and my new basil plant. Yes, we are very happy together, thank you.

Ready to get radical? Ditch your microwave. The only time I've ever lived with a microwave was for two years in college when my roommate had one. You know what I made in it? Frozen dinners. Having a microwave makes it easy to fall into a processed-food-fueled eating routine, given how quickly meals can appear on your plate. Give your microwave the heave-ho and those excuses go with it. Really don't have the time? It's okay to cheat and eat a drive-thru burger or burrito on occasion! I'll admit to a mean weakness for Del Taco.

I closing, here are few of my favorite easy, post-work dinners!

Lettuce + veggie + meat + dressing = salad. That simple math makes it easy to incorporate what catches your eye when you're shopping. For extra protein, I like to add a couple 6 minute eggs on the side.

I'm on a huge Israeli (sometimes called pearl) couscous kick. I prepare it with chicken broth and then add veggies and herbs. My favorite combo at the moment is bell peppers, paprika, mint, goat cheese, and olive oil!

I tend to gravitate towards what we call "pick dinners" in my family, which include several separate elements. This is great for evenings for when I'm really not in the mood to cook, and will include things like sliced avocado or bell peppers, cottage cheese or other sliced cheese, seasonal fruit, an egg, toast with cream cheese and lox, etc!

Hope that gives some of you busy working ladies out there some ideas!Happy cooking, Rachel

My cousin recently graduated with her biology degree, and as my family is prone to do, we threw a party. A mix of friends and lots of family made for an awesome day to celebrate her hard earned achievement!

We're blessed to have such a lovely space as my mom's backyard to hold these functions. There's a table on the lawn, sofas for sitting, and even a cot for napping (should the need strike!).

When making food for a crowd, plan ahead and come up with a menu that can be partially made the night before, or easily put together the next morning. We chose potatoes and bacon we could pop in the oven, along with ham and egg cups that could be easily prepared and baked too. No matter the menu, I think oatmeal is such a brilliant brunch choice. You can make a large batch in a slow cooker, giving you a food item you really don't have to think about! Plus, it's perfect for any of your vegetarian or gluten free guests. Put out bowls of brown sugar, slivered almonds, fresh fruit, and butter pats for a whole oatmeal bar.

A new innovation to our bar repertoire was the addition of a margarita snow cone station! It was a fun addition to the standard champagne and beer options, and perfect for summer weather ahead.

Using a cleaned and de-labeled champagne bottle makes the perfect dispenser (this nice frosted one is from a Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut bottle). You can buy liquor pour spouts at kitchen or restaurant supply stores, as well as online, and I definitely recommend using (so much easier to control how much you're getting!). You can buy snow cone makers at stores like Target or Walmart during the summer months, but can also be found online. Go for one that grinds regular old ice cubes, instead of using a special mold. It takes much longer to freeze a whole ring of ice as opposed to picking up a bag at the grocery store! Our "margarita juice" blend is 2 cups mixer, 1 cup tequila, and a 1/2 cup Triple Sec (this makes just a touch more than will fit in the bottle, so you have some backup!). Our bar also included Torani syrups in coconut, mango, and lime, as well as fresh limes to squeeze on top! Keep some salt on hand, and you're good to go!

One of my favorite things about serving snow cones is the fact that we have the paper cones and those awesome straw with spoon scoops at the end! You can buy them at restaurant stores, but be warned, they come in colossal amounts... but I guess that just means you'll be having snow cones all summer (and maybe next summer too. And the one after that).

Admittedly, after we had all had a few snow cones, we skipped right ahead to the tequila shots...

Good times, good times. It had probably been since my great-grandmother's passing, about 10 years ago, that this particular group of people had all been together (along with the additions of boyfriends and pals), so we sat down in the evening and shared another meal together, with gifts and laughter and memories, and a big box of popsicles.

In closing, I'll say again that it's the memories you make in the presence of the ones you love most which are the most important of all. No matter where you gather or what you eat, I believe it is one of the best, most fulfilling things you can do for yourself and others.Gather and be joyful!xo, Rachel

I spent Saturday and Sunday of this past weekend in the Los Angeles area with two friends from college. We were visiting different artists' studios over the course of the two days, so we decided to stay downtown and make a weekend of it. Even though I live in Long Beach and work in Beverly Hills, I've never spent a whole lot of time in Downtown or Silver Lake, which were two areas we ended up frequenting. It was really fun to adventure around, and we also ate some amazing food, which is what I'm sharing today!

bar +& Kitchen

@The O Hotel, Downtown

We walked from our (budget) hotel to the very nice O Hotel at the pre-dinner hour for some reviving drinks and noms. It's a pretty simple menu, but everything we had was delicious, and the drinks were phenomenal. I tried a Fernet Branca with thyme, and now I have to learn how to make them!

Instead of doing one of the more expensive entrees, I went ahead and did two side orders. Mostly because I wanted French Fries, which if you didn't know, are one of my great loves. Note: fries were quite good, but the dipping sauce really stole the show. The tomato soup was nice and creamy, and they have great croutons (I broke FODMAP and ate them, couldn't help myself)!

Barbrix

Silver Lake

When in L.A. for the weekend, one is required to do brunch. It's basically a city ordinance. And preferably, it should involve bottomless mimosas. And if your bottomless mimosas are $5, then you've basically hit the jackpot. Enter: Barbrix.

As you might expect, $5 mimosas in Silver Lake are a popular thing, so it may behoove you to roll out of bed a little early and get down here. There's a tiny valet lot, but you can find neighborhood parking if you're willing to walk. It's totally worth it, given that the mimosas are made with some stellar tasting orange juice, and the brunch menu made my heart pound.

That's crab hash with poached eggs and tomatillo sauce. Swoon. And since potato hash wasn't enough, I chose French fries instead of salad. I think I have a problem. Though really, the French fries pale in comparison to the sweet, sweet guilt of cinnamon sugar donuts smothered in gelato and rum caramel sauce. Yes, yes we did go there.

Tip: don't say no the dessert menu. The Barbrix also gets a huge thumbs up from me because my champagne flute was only empty once!

Malo

Silver Lake

Since I can't go more than two days without eating Mexican food, we hit Malo before heading out of town for drinks and grub.

I ordered a cocktail called Senorita Angelina instead of a margarita, and if I do say so myself, it was an inspired choice. Tequila, hibiscus, and lime served in a glass with a chili salt rim. Spicy, sour, sweet, and perfectly hot pink!

I decided on going with two sides again, because I couldn't choose just one thing! Malo isn't the most authentic Mexican food restaurant you can find in the area, but you're never going to convince me that bacon refried beans are a bad idea. Because they're just not.

Anyone living/working in the area have some other great restaurant suggestions? I'm thinking I'm going to make some more food dedicated trips in the future!

I'm so excited to have the pictures from my recent trip to Mexico to share with you! Unfortunately, less than half of the exposures actually turned out, but I'm grateful to have the ones I have. I used Fujifilm Water Sport disposable cameras since I wanted to be able to take them to the beach, but they worked very poorly in low lighting (even just being indoors), and the majority of our underwater photos didn't turn out either! In the future, I would perhaps bring one waterproof camera for beach stuff, and disposables with flash for everything else. My boyfriend doesn't like the graininess and distortion that comes hand in hand with disposables, but I like the variations and surprises that film can bring.

We stayed at the Emperador Hotel in the old town, called Zona Romantica. I would definitely recommend going this route over staying in the more northern resort area; we walked everywhere and it was fun to get a vibe of the city. We lucked out with an ocean view, and we spent quite a few late afternoons sitting on the balcony listening to mariachi music and waves (with a cerveza, of course).

This is the major architectural landmark, The Church of Our Lady Guadalupe. Facing out to the Pacific Ocean, it's a beautiful spot with an electric interior, obviously added to over the years. It's also gorgeously lit up at night, so it's worth taking a day and a night trip to go see it.

One of my favorite things to do in any city I travel to is to venture outside of the more tourist-geared areas. Being in Mexico, it's always best the err on the side of caution; don't wander off by yourself, don't go at night, and pay attention to your surroundings. We walked through residential areas near the River Cuale and stumbled upon a tiny restaurant in front of a house, where a young couple fixed us marlin and octopus tostadas while family members darted in and out.

We did a little "rock climbing" one late afternoon and slipped away from the hotel-laden beach to a tiny stretch of sand just to the south.

We took a 40 minute bus trip to the Botanical Gardens. The trip is 20 pesos each way and entrance is 60 pesos, and it's a great way to spend an afternoon and less than ten bucks. Unfortunately for this camera, the bug repellent I was wearing got on the case, and despite my best efforts to wash it off my photos were still cloudy and mostly ruined. If it's hot, bring your swimsuit because there's place along the trail where you can go for a swim in the river!

Another awesome bus trip was to a little beach called Las Gemelas (actually two beaches, divided by rocks). There were a lot of families out swimming in the bright blue water; there's fine white sand and places of shade, so it's a fun place to lay out, swim, and picnic. These photos are my favorite from the trip I think! You have to walk through a gate down a crazy set of stairs to the beach, but the view when you get there is amazing.

This is my favorite photo; these two young boys were taking turns jumping off this rock, timing the waves as they jumped into a hollow in the sand. And below are the only underwater photos that turned out! I think they're pretty funny.

(I take bad seflies!)

Back at our hotel, with salty hair being ridiculously happy. I'm obsessed with these high-waisted bikini bottoms I bought for the trip.

THAT POPSICLE. It had 4 whole oreos frozen in it, so I had to post it even though it looks like I have the legs of an 8 year old. And pinatas hanging in trees!

Can you see the tiny dog on the left? He barked at us from his second story perch for the whole block. And we basically ate street tacos for every meal besides breakfast.

These are from our last morning, more wandering and more delicious breakfast (we ate so well this trip, it was super depressing to come home to my empty refrigerator). We talked about me being back at work the next day, his law school applications, transitioning back to our real lives from our getaway lives. I really loved Puerto Vallarta, and understand why there are so many retirees there. It's walkable, eatable, and lovable.

Here's to more travels, more tacos, more pictures, and more fun! Cheers, Rachel

I'm very excited to be sharing one of my favorites today! I come from a long lineage of champagne enjoyers; sometime back in the 80's, my mom realized that she liked champagne more than wine... so why did she only partake on special occasions? So, she swapped the usual dinner wine for a bottle of champagne. A family legacy was born, soon adopted by her mother and sister. When I was younger I didn't much care for champagne; I was reassured that it was only time, there was no way I could be related otherwise. And sure enough, they were right. It's a rare, unsettling occurrence that there isn't a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator (or at least in the cupboard) at my mom's house; there's something comforting in the knowledge that I can show up, whenever, and be greeted with a glass of bubbly!

The champagne cocktail is a simple edit on your regular glass of bubbles, but it gives it a definite boost of flavor, and feels quite classy. You'll need a nice brut bottle of champagne or sparkling wine (I like Freixenet, which is from Spain and is modestly priced), sugar cubes, and Angostura bitters. Also, a lemon twist is traditional if you have it (it's delicious with the citrus addition, but I didn't have any on hand!). You can also try different bitters if you feel like changing it up; they've had a resurgence in popularity as of late, so there's lots of new things on the market.

First, drop in a sugar cube and douse it with bitters. You want your sugar cube to be nicely soaked, but not sitting in a puddle in the bottom of the glass. Bitters arebitter (sort of obvious, right!), so a little can go a long way. I like mine on the stronger side, but you can always adjust it to your liking.

Now, pour in your champagne! It's such a simple drink, but it makes quite an impact. Plus, the bitters turn the champagne such a lovely blush color. I started ordering these at my last office Christmas party, and several of the girls followed suit after taking a sip of mine!

"I only drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not in a hurry and I drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch the stuff... unless I'm thisty."

That's a Lily Bollinger quote that my mom has had hanging in her studio since I can remember... let it inspire you this weekend! Hope you have a good day, so close to Friday now! Cheers, Rachel